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Wednesday, 27 April 2011

After a day of ups and downs ... and nearly four hours of sitting in the main hall waiting to interview prospective students who did not turn up ... I finally got home at about 7.30pm. Waiting for me was a large cardboard package, and after getting myself a soft drink, I sat down and opened it. Inside was Osprey's latest offering, ARMIES OF THE BALKAN WARS 1912-13: THE PRIMING CHARGE FOR THE GREAT WAR.

I had ordered this book from Amazon some time ago, and was eagerly looking forward to receiving it. It is part of the Men-at-Arms series (No. 466 [ISBN 978 1 84908 418 5]) and it was written by Philip S Jowett and illustrated by Stephen Walsh.

The Balkan Wars have been one of my areas of interest for many years, and even a cursory look through this book has given me lots of ideas for possible armies that I could 'raise' to use with my portable wargame and for FUNNY LITTLE WARS.

Excellant book ! , I only wish the Balkans War had took place about 15 years earlier when all the participants would have been in more colourful uniforms . My 40 mm armies on my blog (tin soldiering on) are loosly based on the Balkans with the odd invented one thrown in . The Balkans War 1912-1913 by Alexander Vachkov (avaible via Amazon) is very good as well, a bit more in deapth, although the translation is a little odd in places .

If you wanted some kind of operational-strategic game to give a framework to your individual battles, a not-so-long-ago issue of Strategy and Tactics features the Balkan Wars. It's a Joe Miranda design and as far as I know, the only board wargaem on the subject. Nice articles, too.http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10269/balkan-wars

I found an unexpected source of Balkan Wars info: Youtube!!! Do a search for "Bulgarian Army" and all kinds of stuff pops up. Who would have expected it? It is also interesting to read viewers' comments--the Serbs and Bulgarians have not forgotten the slightest insult...

I have found a whole series of films about the Chaco War as well as the entire film 'Turkish Gambit' split into a lot of small 'chunks'.

I am not surprised that there is still animosity between the various parties to the Balkan Wars; nations and peoples have long memories ... which is why studying history tells us so much about the present-day World.

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The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.